Seed drill



H. M. LEAKE Aug. 30, 1932.

SEED DRILL Filed May 9, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a, mm %W H. M LEAKE Aug. 30, 1932.

SEED DRILL Filed May 9, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wid :ununl mam 70?, Hugh Mariin Leake j w ey/Q. ArTOA /VE/ Patented Aug. 30, v1932 warren STATES PATENT orrrcr HUGH MARTIN LEAKE, OF CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND SEED DRILL Application filed May 9,1930, SerialN o. 451,055,.and in Great Britain May 21, 1929.

.. ularity of fall, largely due to the jolts given to the machine when passing over rough ground. Both of these failings contribute towards irregularity of feed and consequent lack of uniformity of spacing in the sowing.

- Another common type of seed drill in use,

viz., the force feed type, has proved in practice to be even more irregular in feed.

The primary purpose of this invention is to reduce as far as possible lack of uniformity of spacing by ensuring regular feed of seed to the coulters, either in a steady stream or atregular intervals. i

In accordance with one important object of the invention, each, coulter is supplied with seed by amechanical feeding device, which not only feeds the seed uniformly to an ejection aperture leading to the coulter, but also causes certain ejection of the seed through said aperture.

The above result is accomplished by ejecting the seed into the coulter tube from a dist-ribut-ing device, comprising in combination a cylindrical seed receiving box or casing, having an ejection aperture in its peripheral wall, a bafiie member screening said opening except from one peripheral direction, and a rotating member which carries the seed peripherally behind said battle for ejection through said aperture. In order to facilitate rapid ejection of the seed, the edge portion of the rotating member may slope downwardly towards the wall of'the distributor. Forexample, the rotating member may consist of a rotating disc having a bevelled edge,

whilst the ejection aperture in the casing is on a level with the bevelled edge of the rotat ing disc, said bevelled edge carrying the seed to the ejection aperture, whereafter, due to the slope of the bevelled edge of the disc, the seed falls by its own weight, and is discharged radially through the ejection aperture.

Preferably, however, the rotating member is substantially cone shaped, with either a flat sloping surface, or a concave sloping surface, ,so that the seed constantly tends to travel radially of the rotating member, and does not collect in a dead space in the centre.

In accordance with another important objectof the invention, the improved machine may include means for vibrating the rotatlng member in a vertical direction, for the purpose of preventing any jamming and bunching up of the seed liable to interfere with the continuous discharge of the seed through the aperture. The provision of such meansis particularly important for the larger seeds, but it is not necessary for very small seeds. Therefore, I may provide mechanical vibrating means which is adapted to be thrown out of action at will.

Inaccordance with still another important object of the invention, if it is desired that the same machine may be used for sowing many different kinds of seeds of widely yarying sizes, the baffle member or members 1s or are adjustable within the seed box or casing, in such manner as to vary the effective size of the ejection aperture or apertures. Preferably,-the baffle member is shaped so that by peripheral adjustment thereof the 8 effective height of the ejection aperture, or the effective width, or both, may be varied. A suitable shape for the operative edge of the baffle member is one of stepped formation.

Further objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustratingthe invention by Way of example only,'and the invention will here- 95 inafter be precisely defined in the claims appended hereto and forming part of this specification. v

In the drawings:

' Figure 1 is a sectional view of one con- 190 structionof feeding or distributingmechanism for seed drills according tov the invention V r v Figure 2 illustrates the adjusting means for different classes of seeds,

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the bathe members, and

Figures 4, 5,6 and 7 are diagramsillustratin'g the action of the baflie member.

* pp carried y a frame mounted:

The improved seed drill according'toth'e present invention is; generallyof swelllmg wne form,- to theextent that it comprises'a seed upon a pair ormore of land wheels, there being generally a-row of any deSirednUmber Qi eoul ers d stributed, c oss th ba k of them i e nd fed through e f ter tubes by feeding-or distributing deviceswhiclr -re ceive seed from the hopper and transfer it been ahri ostinvariably of either'the cup,

in sma l q a tit t9 t l er tube [I em late not how r, a the n e ion may be appl t ed' lle'f 'hend use, Wh ieh ha Q1 13 e. singl oe e n t -i or t 'will beappreeiated from wh'at'jha's already beensaid,1the present invention relates ri rimier y to e "fe ng d 's ri t n means, which prior: to this inventionfhave qr thetforce feed type. "According to this invention, "however, the seed passes from V jthe 'seed box or hopper, thebottom of which is indicated" bythe reference 1 in thedrawings, through tube 2 int0 a feed'box orcasingBiastened beneath the floor lot the "hopperby means of a bracket 4 andbolt The. boxor casing3 constitutes the distribfuting'-chamb er,-- and it contains a, rotating member 6 which is generally of coneshape,

' 7 but has concave inclined surface curving outwardly her 6. V

This cone shaped member" 6 is moulnted to theperipheraledge of 'the mem} on a square spindle 7'," the upper-end of which "has a sliding enga'gement,with a bevel"-wheel 8', the boss of which is journalled in the e bearing against. the shoulder on the spindle Z'iormed by cylindrically turninitsendi portion, is disposed; a spring 145. it its upper end'the spindle 7' carries, a rounded pip 15,

, preiera ly of hardened steel; which is: adapted e mak ontac wi h a ooth d Wheel 16a Thebevel gear 8v meshes] with amother bevel se t7 m nt da; squar pe -t r; of a star e-w et is slidabletherethr g e Thi l e tfi ext nd omplete y cross th b k ofthe machine and is adapted, todriive the series of distributors whieh theemachinecar- .igiesi I; For thispurpose-one end of thevShaft showing one 7 'elistri uter -I 7 r I,

It theit ethed Wheels ltj arein t pesiitio 18may carrya wide gear pinion 19 meshing with a gear20 driven, if necessary through other gears, from the axle of the machinewhich is rotated by one of the land Wheels of the machine. 7 I

At the opposite side of the machine the shaft 18 may be journaledi in a bracketQl fastened to thehepper fio rLand may carry v a handle 22' already indicated,"the shaft: 18jha's' a sliding engagement with the bevel Wheelslfaei: allzeithe d ib o s, but the toothed wheels 16 of all of the distributors arei'fiXed to said shaft 18 between discs-or;

collars 23. I p p I handle'22 to the leftof'F-igure '1, the toothed With the pip- 15,: without interferingfwith the drive oijtheberel wheels 1,7-v Th -Wid ge pin'1ion'f19 on the. end ofth'e shaft- 18 permits this 'endwise mo ementeer the shaft 18, with- Gonsequentlypby moving the wheel 16; can be moved into the position in o i'd' e-ated by dotted lines}, I out of engagement o t nte r p en Of the driv r Th n i e merement e the'ehef 18.1 is 'limit din on direction by a; collar '24 which engages against th bearing bracket 21 and in'theothergdife'et n byithe hand eZZ- Thus it will be i seen thatby manipulation of the ljinidl'e',- the t othed wheeler lean b br ug t n or eut of. engagement. with the pips z f e in Figure lyi eie gaging-" ith he o rwsrh she-f 1.18, rotat s, eh tribet ng e rie member 7 F V will be; rete ithife gh berelfgear 8 a df 17;. Wh t at the m mev t, win-embraced in a. vert c d reetien; due e to the striking Off he Pip 15 by "theteeth? et he. wh el "16," and the action f the prmg l l Treiwheare pre er ly mended ith a het t th SQ xiij p ef d as to give the cone 6 a comparatively slojw downard me ement, but a Sud en upward? mere ment e to iee't h eee m re efii t y- T e e l-S11 9; lepmt f ed fat di me rieally weep 1s, w th wo: seed dischar e. pe t r e25 eple ng to. e '1pe26 r n ting the prere dee e'p ir fe u te tu e fi; The

'ldwened'gesof said apertures 25' are chlamfered or cut away to avoidany tendency to "seed" blockages forming in'iront of the apertures. Within the casing 3,; alcove the reed.

ee e p ed-e? r e a ng bare e s 29 ex e ing in a ly her f o into contact with the surface of the cone 6. These-ba'fiie' members may extend peripheral- 'ly of the easing to any suitable and desired extent greater than twice. the 7 width of" the apertures 25, and are generally 'of-itheshape l ll iistrafiedf'by Figure i the-xlower edge of the outer surface, which =makes= contact with inner wall of" the casing I 3 being of steppedfomation. e

cover the apertures 25m vary- Figures 4 to 7 inclusive.

ing extents. Forthis purpose a pin passes through a slot 31 in the wall of the casing 3 the machine by a bolt 35, by a hand wheel 36.

By rotating the hand wheel 36 the bar 32 is drawn laterally across the machine, and moves the pins 30 so as to rotate the bafile carrying rings 28. At a convenient point along its length the bar 32 carries a pointer 37 co-operating with a scale 38 fixed on the machine. This scale 38 carries a number of marks or lines, against which are printed the names of seeds of Various sizes.

The action of the baffle members 29 regulating the effective size of the discharge ape-rtures'25 in the casing 3 will be apparent from In Figure 4 the batlie member 29 is shown in position for the sowing of the larger sizes of seeds, such, for

example, as beans. In Figure 5 the baffle. 7 member is shown moved partly to the right so that the portion of the aperture 25 of maximum height is reduced in width. In Figure 6 the bafile member 29 is moved still further to the right, so that the open portion of the aperture is only of very small height, whilst i w in Figure 7 the effective size of the discharge aperture is of the minimum height, and very nearly of the minimum width.

It will be understood that the seeds carried 7, by the cone 6 can only approach the apertures 4t 25 in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figures f to 7, and are only discharged singly or in a narrow stream through the ejection apertures 25, provided that these apertures are cut down to a sufficiently small effective size. By manipulating the handle 36, the baffle members 29 can be set in suitable positions to deal with the particular seed which has to be sown. For the largest size of seeds the baffle members are set so that none, or only a portion of the height and/or width of the ejection aperture is cut off, and by advancing the baflle member across the ejection aperture, the effective width of the aperture is: reduced, since only a part of the width of the opening is of sufficient height to permit passage of the seeds.

The steps on the baflie member 25 may be of different heights and/or widths, and their surfaces may slope so that the effective height of the aperture gradually decreases across its width, although the surfaces of the steps may be horizontal, i. e. parallel tothe bottom of the casing 3, if desired. Sloping of the sur faces of the steps has the advantage of allow- 1 ing a limited margin of variation in the sizes of the seeds capable of passing through the ejection aperture.

Although the feed box or casing 3 is shown as having a closed top, yet I may make the top of the casing open, so that access may be readily had to the interior of the casing when required, for example, for clearing any blockages which may arise. In this case, the bearing sleeve 9 may be carried by a spider similarly to the lower bearing 10, or it may be carried by a bar extending across the machine above the line of seed casings 3.

It must be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction of distributor or feeding device described and illustrated, inasmuch as various other constructions may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is 1. Seed distributing means for seed drills, comprising in combination a cylindrical casing, seed inlet means to said casing, an axially rotating member in said casing, a seed discharge aperture in the wall of said casing located adjacent the periphery of the rotating member, a coulter tube associated with said aperture, a baflie member associated with said aperture and shaped to prevent direct access of seed to said aperture, whilst permitting seed to be carried to said aperture by the periphery of the rotating member, and means for vibrating said rotating member, said means being capable of being thrown out of action when desired.

2. Seed distributing means for seed drills, comprising in combination a cylindrical casing, seed inlet means to said casing, an axially rotating member in said casing, a seed discharge aperture in the wall of said casing lo cated adjacent the periphery of the rotating member, a coulter tube associated with said aperture, a baffle member associated with said aperture and shaped to prevent direct access of seed to said aperture, whilst permitting seed to be carried to said aperture by the periphery of the rotating member, a transverse driving shaft, gearing operatlvely associating the rotating member with said driving shaft and permitting axial movement of said rotating member, a toothed wheel fixed on said driving shaft, an axial pip associated with said rotating member, and spring means normally holding said rotating member with said pip in contact with said toothed wheel.

3. Seed distributing means as set forth in claim 2, including ratchet teeth on said toothed wheel, so disposed as to give a comparatively slow downward movement of the rotating member, but a sudden upward return movement.

4. A seed distributor for seed drilling machines, comprising in combination a cylindrical seed container having a peripheral seed ejection aperture, an adjustable baflle member screening said aperture except from one direction, said baffieflmemberhaving a stepp'edlcut-oil edge co-operating with said 1 new aperture, rotary feeding means. for carrying the seed in acontmuous stream from-- said containerb'ehindsaid baffle and discharging 'it through said aperture, and means foI 'vibrating said rotary feeding means. 5'. Aseed distributor for seed drilling machines, comprisingin combination a cylindrical' seed "container having, a peripheral seed ejection aperture, an adjustable baiile member screening said aperture except from one direction, said bailie member having a stepped cut-off edgefco-operating with said aperture, rotary feeding means; for carrying theseed in a continuous stream from said container behind said balile and discharging t through said aperture, and means'for V1 brating said rotary feeding means in an axial direction. 7 r I j 6. A seed distributor for seed drilling machines, comprising incombination a cylin drical seed container having a peripheral seed ejection aperture,-an adjustable bafile member'screening said aperture except from one direction, said baffle member having a stepped cut-off edge co-operating with said aperture, rotary feeding means "for carrying the seed in a continuous stream from said con tamer behind said-baffle and discharging it through said aperture-, and'means for vi-- bratin said rotary feeding means in'an axial direction with a sudden upward returnmovement and a slower downward movement,

' ,7. Seed distributing means for seed drills, comprising in combination a cylindrical casing, seed inlet meansto-said casing, an axially I rotating member in said casing, a seed discharge aperture in the wall of said casing located adjacent the periphery of the rotating member, a coultertube associated externally with said aperture, a bafile member associated internally with said aperture and shaped to define with said rotating member and the wall of the casing a closed peripheral passage of gradually decreasing cross section, the seed being carried into the wide end of said channel by said rotating member andjdischarged through the vdischarge aperture of the 'casing after traveling a prede'- 'termined distance alon said passage, and

means for vibrating said rotating member,

said Vibratingv means beinglarranged tobe thrown out of action when desired. a v

8. Seed distributing means for seed drills, comprising in combination a cylindrical casing, seed inlet means to said casing, an axially rotating member in said casing,v a seed discharge aperture inthe' wall of said casing located adjacent the periphery of the rotating member,v a coulter tube associated externally I with said apertur'era'bafile member associated internally with said aperture-and shaped to define with said retating member and the wall of the casing a closedperipheral passage ofg'gradually decreasing'fcross section,

the. seed being carried into the wide end of said channed by said rotating member and discharged through the discharge aperture of the casing after traveling ta predeterminecl vibrating said rotating member; j I 9. Seed distributing meansiior: seed drills,

comprising in combination acylindrical cas-, lng,seed inlet-means to sa dcasing,-an axially rotating member in said; casing, a seed. dish charge aperture in the wall ofsaid casing located adj a'centgthe periphery of the. rotat- I member, a coultertube iasso'ciated externally with said; aperture,v fa baflie member associated nternally w th said aperture and shaped to define with said rotatingrm'ember and tlie wall of the-casing a closed peripheral passage of gradually decreasing cross section,

the seed'being carried into the wideendof distance along-said passage, and meansi for f said channel by said rotating member and 1 dischargedthrough the discharge aperture of the casingaftertraveling a predetermined distance alon said passage, and means for Vibrating saidirotatingmember in an axial direction. 1 l0. Seed'distributinrg means for seed drills,

comprising in combination a cylindricalcasi1:1g,:seed inlet means to said casing, an axial ly rotating member Y in said casing, a seed discharge 7 aperture n'the wall ofsald casing located adjacent 'the peripheryiof the rota in member, a coulter tubenassociated externally with said aperture, and a bafiie memV-c ber associated internally with said aperture ber'and' the wall; of the casing'a closed peripheral passage of gradually decreasing cross section, the seed being carried into-the wide end of said channel by said rotating member and discharged thro-ughithe dis- V and shaped to definewith said-rotating'memcharge aperture of thecasing after traveling f V a predetermined d'istanc'efalong said passage,

said baffle member being adjustable periph "erally ofthel casing to vary the size'oi' the channel in the baffle member Where it overlaps the discharge aperture' in the casing.

1].. Seed" distributing means for seed drills,

of said channel by said rotating member and discharged through the v discharge aperture ofthe casing after travelling a'predetermined 7 distance along said passage, saidlbaliie meme ber' being so shaped that peripheral adjustment thereof in relation to said casing varies.

' the effective size of said aperture in both. 7 height and width.

12. Seed distributing means for seed drills, comprising in combination a cylindrical cas ing, seed inlet means to said casing, an axially rotating member in said casing, a seed dis charge aperture in the wall of said casing located adjacent the periphery of the rotating member, a coulter tube associated with said aperture, and a baffle member associated with said aperture and shaped to define with said rotating member and the wall of the casing a closed peripheral passage of gradually de creasing cross section, seed being carried into the wide endof said channel by said rotating member and discharged through the discharge aperture of the casing after travelling a predetermined distance along said passage, said baflie member having a stepped cut-01f edge such that peripheral adjustment thereof in relation to said casing varies the efiective width and height of said aperture.

13. Seed distributing means for seed drills, comprising in combination a cylindrical casing, seed inlet means to said casing, an axially rotating member in said casing, a plurality of seed dischargeapertures in the wall of said casing located adjacent the periphery of the rotating member, a peripherally adjustable ring within said casing, and a plurality of baifle members carried by said ring in association with said apertures, said baffle member being shaped to define with said rotating member and the wall of the casing a closed peripheral passage of gradually decreasing cross section, the seed being carried into the wide end of said channel by said rotating member and discharged through the discharge aperture of the casing after travelling a predetermined distance along said passage.

14. Seed distributing means for seed drills, comprising in combination a cylindrical casing, seed inlet means to said casing, an axially rotating member in said casing, a plurality of seed discharge apertures in the wall of said casing located adjacent the periphery of the rotating member, a plurality of baffle members associated with said apertures and shaped to define with said rotating member and the wall of the casing a closed peripheral passage of gradually decreasing cross section, seed being carried into the wide end 15. A seed distributor for seed drilling machine, comprising in combination a seed container having a seed ejection aperture, an adjustable baffle member screening said aperture but providing a peripheral closed channel thereto, adjustment of said baflle member varying both the effective height and width of said ejection aperture, and feeding means for transferring seed from said container to said ejection aperture along said channel.

16. A seed distributor for seed drilling machines, comprising in combination a cylindrical seed container having a peripheral seed ejecting aperture, a peripherally adjustable bafie member screening said aperture but providing a peripheral closed channel leading to said aperture, peripheral adjustment of said bafiie member varying both the effective height and Width of said ejection aperture, and rotary feeding means for carrying the seed in a continuous stream from said container along said channel, and discharging it through said aperture.

In testimoy whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HUGH MARTIN LEAKE.

of said channel by said rotating member and discharged through the discharge aperture of the casing after travelling a predetermined distance along said passage, a peripherally adjustable ring within said casing from which said. baffle members project radially inwards, external means for adjusting said ring peripherally within said casing, a scale fixed on the seed drill frame, and a pointer associated with said adjusting means and co-' operating with said scale to indicate the ad- .justment of said baflle members. 

